Remember the time before your phone’s camera was all you needed to capture special moments? Families purchased digital cameras to take along on holidays. And even before that? The good ol’ film cameras from names such as Kodak and Canon.

Do you ever wonder why a company like Kodak didn’t keep up with the times? Did we switch to other digital cameras because Kodak didn’t have digital expertise? Not true. Kodak actually built the first digital camera in 1975, but decided not to market it. It wasn’t a market research failure. Market research indicated that the product would sell. This was a case where the company didn’t WANT to believe in what the market was saying.

Kodak had huge investments in paper and chemicals, and thus believed that their film business was the driver. By introducing digital cameras, they realised that sales of film would go down and they were wary of this. This is the reason its first digital camera never reached the market. Kodak ignored the market research. What’s more, they misunderstood which business they were in. They assumed that they were in the camera and film business. But actually the consumer need they served was capturing memories.

So, ask yourself this question tonight – What business is your organization in?

Btw, if you want more insights on marketing, and especially market research, head over to Konversations.com and start learning today!